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Registration drive turns up apathy on campus

By Mary Spicuzza Special to the Daily Planet
Thursday February 21, 2002

Michael Lehet, a 22-year-old UC Berkeley student, devoured a package of crackers as he explained why he isn’t a registered voter. Tuesday was the registration deadline for anyone hoping to vote in the March 5 primary election, but Lehet stood inside Sproul Hall, looking at the rain. Elections failed to interest him. 

“I’m an out-of-state student,” said Lehet, a fifth-year student majoring in molecular cell biology who will be going to attending law school in the fall. “I think you can register to vote even if you’re out-of-state, but I haven’t yet.”  

Nor has he voted at home. 

Members of Associated Students of the University of California, Cal Democrats, and staff from the Loni Hancock for State Assembly office organized a last-minute on-campus registration drive Tuesday to encourage students like Lehet to fill out voter registration forms. Rain canceled plans to set up a table at Sproul Plaza, so five or six volunteers prowled campus cafes and restaurants looking for unregistered students. 

Wally Adeyemo, president of the ASUC, helped organize the drive to ensure campus voices are heard in city affairs, especially those that directly affect students. His group estimates that 23 percent of Berkeley’s more than 71,000 registered voters are students – that means Cal has upwards of another 14,000 potential voters. 

“Safety on the south side of campus is a major concern,” Adeyemo said. “The students in Piedmont want lighting. All over campus there are people who are concerned about city issues.” 

Students said Tuesday they feel politicians often give them and education issues short shrift. Eric Molina, a 22-year-old English major, said Cal now has more than 34,000 students on campus, and it’s only fair they have a say in city issues. 

“Walls were duct-taped together at my high school,” said Molina, a Danville native. “The school textbooks were 30 years old. So when I vote, education is my main concern.” 

Molina, who is registered, said though he isn’t planning to vote in the upcoming election he goes to the polls for issues that are important to him 

Omar Khan, a 22-year-old political economy major, said education was the main issue drawing him to the March 5 polls. He’s angry with Gov. Gray Davis about proposed cuts in education spending, and he may vote for one of the other gubernatorial candidates. 

“I’ll just have to see where the others stand,” Khan said. 

He agreed that UC students are politically aware and active, and deserve more representation on the City Council. 

Students are working to influence the city’s redistricting plan so that at least one of its eight districts has a student majority. Every 10 years district boundaries are redrawn to reflect population growth patterns, and Josh Fryday, a member of the ASUC, and others have submitted redistricting proposals to the city council.  

The City Council held a public hearing Tuesday to discuss redistricting proposals and will host another on Feb. 26. Students met several times with council members to discuss redistricting plans. 

Not everyone on campus seems to care about the outcome of those meetings. A half-dozen students said Tuesday they don’t follow local politics or vote. Some said they’re too busy, others said they’re not interested in politics. 

“Most people don’t know there’s an election,” said Patrick Campbell, a former ASUC president who now works for the Loni Hancock campaign. “It’s not like there’s an exciting election or a controversial proposition.” 

Campbell said getting people to the polls in early spring, or in November during a non-presidential ballot, has always been difficult. 

But Adriana Martinez, a 22-year-old political science major at San Jose State University, said students now want to have a voice in politics. While visiting the UC Berkeley campus Tuesday, Martinez said the events of Sept. 11 have created a more politically-aware students. 

“I think most people in our generation are looking for change,” Martinez said. “They are very aware, and want to vote.”